On Reserve
by VickyVicarious
Summary: Everyone makes sacrifices for their House. Some are just less willing than others.


Over the past few days I've been searching through all my fics, looking for anything I may have forgotten about or might want to continue and post. I hit upon a few decent ones, (hence several of the recent updates) and this is one of them. I'm oddly fond of it, if only because it's the only Blaise fic I've ever written.

It's originally from way back in May 2010, and was a response to a challenge on the DG Forum. The **prompt** was - Blaise breaks a bone.

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><p>Blaise had never been as good at Quidditch as Draco was. To be honest, he'd never even been all that interested in the sport – a fact which he admitted to few, given the rabid nature of competitive Quidditch fans in general, let alone those at Hogwarts. He had of course attended every game and booed down those pesky Gryffindors(Hufflepuffs/Ravenclaws) but that was more out of a desire to support his House and not have to answer annoying questions than from any actual interest in the sport. The fact that his best friend was a Seeker helped, too.

So Blaise really had no idea how he had gotten this job. It wasn't as if he'd signed up or tried out for it. Or even ever _mentioned_ it. No, everyone just seemed to assume that Draco Malfoy's best friend would be great on a broom, and of course he'd be honored to play on the team (after all, who didn't love an opportunity to play Quidditch and beat down the other Houses at the same time?).

Not quite.

Blaise laid rather low, but he _would_ have protested being listed as a reserve Beater (of all positions!) had he known about it at all. But he hadn't, they'd just written him up without thinking, and ambushed him in the hallway, and now somehow he ended up standing on the field nervously clutching a (rather heavy) bat in one hand and his broom in the other, being booed by three-fourths of the (Housist!) crowd. Before he had any time to figure out what was going on, back out, or even protest being given the job of back-up _Beater_ (Blaise didn't want anything to do with those Bludgers, especially not a job that required him to get all up-close and personal with them, and besides, this bat was bloody _heavy!_), the whistle was blown and the game had begun.

Gryffindor and Slytherin were the best teams in Hogwarts. This was undisputable. However, many people underestimated the other teams as completely useless, and this wasn't so: the Hufflepuffs had the best teamwork of the lot, and the Ravenclaws' strategies were top-notch, and could be adjusted at the drop of a hat. They took absolutely everything into consideration, making them formidable opponents, and today they had realized something no one else except the boy in question did: Blaise was the Slytherin team's weak link.

Beater is a harder job than most people think. Oh, sure, it doesn't require a whole lot of teamwork other than staying out of everyone else's way. And yeah, it's fair to admit that it's pretty much a reactionary position, or at least not something one can plan ahead for – no strategies here. Some say that brute strength is all that's needed, as Flint demonstrated by assigning Crabbe and Goyle as the regular Beaters.

But the thing is, that brute strength needs to be very specifically trained. Upper-body strength, especially in the shoulders, is essential, and speed equally so. You have to hit _hard_ – it's not easy to change a Bludger's course – and you need to hit _accurately_ too; a great advantage can be gained from a Beater who hits the Bludger into the right player at the right time instead of just keeping it away from his teammates. He becomes a weapon rather than a shield.

Goyle made an excellent weapon. Unfortunately, he had an unexpected and very contagious flu that, while it would be cured by the end of the week, nevertheless kept him out of the game. Blaise barely made an acceptable shield, let alone a weapon, and the Ravenclaws realized this and adjusted their strategy accordingly.

In other words: Crabbe was kept busy on the other side of the pitch, while Bludger after Bludger was launched for Blaise to block in rapid succession, each one seemingly harder than the last. He began well, certainly; Slytherin was winning and he'd stopped anyone from getting hit so far – but Ravenclaws were patient, and 60 points into the game Blaise's arm felt like it was going to fall off. He could barely lift the bat, and had to take to swinging it two-handed, thus impairing his balance. Then, when his arms began to weaken more (what was Draco _doing?_) he put his entire body into it, twisting violently at the waist. This caused an unexpected rush of power, enough that Blaise didn't even realize exactly how much the new move messed with his already precarious balance.

The Ravenclaw Captain was a brilliant strategist. Blaise was doomed.

The Bludger swung fast towards Pucey, too busy catching a throw to dodge. Blaise spun to the left, reached out with both arms, swung wildly as he tipped to the side – hit the Bludger – just a tap, but Pucey made the catch and was off – he kept tipping – the Bludger spun round, helped by the Ravenclaw Beater – he didn't have time to bring the bat up, nor to dodge – WHAM!

Blaise did a marvelous triple flip on his way to the ground, where he promptly landed on his elbow and snapped it clean in two. Luckily, he'd lost consciousness when the large iron ball slammed into his cheek, or he very likely would have screamed.

He woke up in the Hospital Wing a day later, the entire team congratulating him because he'd 'distracted everyone' long enough for Draco to zoom ahead of Cho and get the Snitch, thereby securing a Slytherin win. They all patted Blaise on the shoulder and grinned at him, and Blaise might have screamed at them if his mouth wasn't taped shut.


End file.
